Excerpt from Ardennia: The Unlikely Story of Cinderella's Prince (to be released Oct. 5, 2021)
Chapter 10
Two Ladies of Very
Different Temperaments
Two days
later Henry had another tete-a tete, this time with the daughter of the
Viscount of Montreuil. The second he saw
her he knew she was not who he was looking for because she was too tall. Disappointed, he made some polite
conversation and then said he had to be going on his way. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“What’s
the matter?” he asked.
“Why
must you leave so soon? Did I say
something to offend you?” she asked.
“No,” he
said.
“I did,
didn’t I. I’m sorry; I just say the stupidest things sometimes. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I get so nervous when I’m
around men and I try too hard to compensate for being so tall.”
“You
didn’t say anything stupid and you’re not too tall,” he said diplomatically.
“I’m
taller than you and being taller than a prince is never a good thing.”
“I don’t
know about that. I think tall women are
very alluring,” said Henry.
“You do,” she said, brightening up.
“Yes,”
he said.
“Even if
they tower over you like I do?”
“The
taller the better,” he said.
“Well I
don’t think you will ever find anyone taller than me, so why are you in such a
hurry to leave?”
“Because
you are wrong about that; there is a woman taller than you and I am on a quest
to find her.”
“Really?”
she asked.
“Really,”
he answered.
“That’s
so romantic. How tall is she?”
“She’s
taller than you by a head,” Henry said.
“Then
you must be on your way to find her.”
“Thank
you for understanding,” he said, rising to his feet.
She rose
to her feet too, looked down on him, bid him farewell and told him she would
never forget him and that she hoped he would succeed in his quest to find the
very tall lady and live happily ever after.
He thanked her, made his way out of the Viscount’s residence and
rejoined Guy, who was standing outside holding the palfreys and mule, and
feeding his goat a carrot.
“Let’s
go while the going is good,” said Henry.
“She
wasn’t the one I assume,” Guy said.
“No, and
I want to get out of here before I have to tell anymore lies,” said Henry.
“Sometimes
telling lies is the only thing you can do,” said Guy.
“Is that
so,” said Henry, saddling up.
“That’s
so, especially when you are sparing peoples’ feelings,” said Guy, saddling up
too.
“How do
you know I was lying to do that?” asked Henry.
“Because
I know you,” said Guy.
On that note they put the residence of the
Viscount of Montreuil behind them and headed for the ferry which would take
them across the River Oise and to the next lady on Henry’s list; the pack mule
in tow and the goat – now off its tether – following in their wake.
They
reached the crossing just as the ferry departed for the other side and they had
to cool their heels. As they were
cooling their heels a merchant with a pasty face and a floppy hat arrived with
a cart full of his wares. He pulled the
reins on his nag as he came up to them and asked if they were interested in
buying a bolt of wool cloth.
“Do we
look like we need a bolt of wool cloth?” asked Guy.
“No, but
It never hurts to ask. Where are you
bound?” asked the merchant.
“Where
are you?” countered Guy.
“To
greener pastures. No one on this side of
the river is interested in my wool, which is a shame because it is very finely
woven and I’m selling it at a discount.”
“Perhaps
no one is interested in your wool because your competitors have beaten you to
the punch,” said Guy.
“Ah, my
competitors; they are the bane of my existence.
If it weren’t for them I would be swimming in coin. As it is I don’t even have the two deniers
for my ferry passage.”
“Then
how are you going to get across?” asked Guy.
“I don’t
know. Maybe the ferryman will accept a
promise that I will pay him later.”
“Would you accept such a promise for your
wares?” Guy asked.
“Certainly
not; that would be bad business.”
“Then
why would you expect the ferryman to?” asked Guy.
“Because
he is only selling his services and I am selling goods,” explained the
merchant.
“But
it’s the same principle,” said Henry, jumping in.
“That
may be, but giving my goods away on a promise could cost me dear while giving me a ride across the river – even if I
never honored my promise – would cost the ferryman nothing.”
“Nothing
but his labor and the setting of precedent that he is an easy mark,” Prince
Henry said.
The man
at the center of their debate arrived with his ferry and discharged a tinker
and his wagon onto the shore.
“How is
business on the other side?” asked the merchant of the tinker.
“As good
as can be expected; there is always someone who needs a pot mended,” said the
tinker.”
“And
have you encountered any merchants selling their goods?” the merchant asked.
“Only in
the market town of Sossions; they hold their market days every Tuesday,” said
the tinker.
“Were
any merchants selling bolts of wool cloth there?”
“I don’t
know, I was too busy tinkering to notice,” said the tinker.
“Thank
you. By the way, would you be interested
in a bolt of wool cloth. I have some
very nice cloth that is as blue as your eyes,” said the merchant.
“I’ve no
need for a bolt of cloth, blue or otherwise.
Fare thee well,” said the tinker, going on his way.
“Come
on!” said the ferryman to the merchant, having waited long enough for him.
The
merchant boarded the ferry, joining Henry and Guy.
“That
will be two deniers,” said the ferryman.
The
merchant made a show of checking his pockets and coming up empty.
“Two
deniers,” repeated the ferryman.
“I seem
to be bereft of coin at the moment. But
if you will give me credit I will settle with you upon my return from Sossions.
“Two
deniers or you can get off my ferry,” said the ferryman.
“Be
reasonable. Is it not better to give me
passage and accept payment later than to leave me stranded on this side of the
river and have no prospect of making a profit off me?”
“For the
last time, that will be two deniers,” the ferryman said.
“Here, I
will pay his passage,” said Henry, giving the ferryman two deniers.
The
ferryman took the two deniers and started pulling on rope which was tied around
a big cottonwood tree on the other side of the river. Slowly the ferry began to move toward the
opposite shore.
“I am in
your debt and at the first opportunity I will recompense you with interest,”
said the merchant.
“There
is no need to recompense me. Hopefully
your business will prosper and someday you
will be in a position to help someone who is in a pinch,” said Henry.
“If I
prosper I will certainly do so, provided I prosper enough.”
“How
much is enough?” asked Guy.
“Well,
in truth one can never prosper
enough. That is the creed I go by.”
“Isn’t
having a fine home, food on the table and clothes on your back prosperity
enough?” asked Guy.
“Not
nearly,” answered the merchant.
“Well
what if you added a good amount of land under tillage and a sack of gold coins
stashed away in a safe place,” said Guy.
“Still
not enough,” the merchant said.
“Would
owning a fleet of merchant ships do it then?” asked Guy.
“No.”
“How
about coming into possession of a gold mine with inexhaustible reserves?”
“That is
getting close,” said the merchant.
“Close?”
“Yes;
you see prosperity can be a fragile thing and you can never have too much of
it. Suppose my house burned down. Suppose a drought came and ruined my crops
under tillage. Suppose I forgot where I
stashed my coins and my fleet was lost in a storm and there was a catastrophic
cave in at my mine: what would I do then?”
“Start
all over, I guess,” said Guy.
“Exactly;
and who wants to start all over after being prosperous but not prosperous
enough,” said the merchant as the ferryman toiled to earn his deniers.
“I see
your point. But what if everyone lived
by your creed?”
“Then
everyone would be prosperous or on the verge of prosperity.”
“I don’t
think that would be possible,” said Guy.
“Why
not?” asked the merchant.
“Because
there is not enough to go around for everyone to prosper to the extent you are
saying,” said Guy.
“Perhaps,
at any rate there is enough to make some people immensely prosperous, and I
intend to be one of them,” concluded the merchant who hadn’t had the two
deniers for his passage on the ferry.
[Wilmington, NC, December 7, 2021] 
Readers and reviewers have praised Ardennia. One said, ". . . Ardennia pegged my fun meter! Bruce Calhoun is a great storyteller and I quickly connected with the characters. As a father of two daughters and now a grandfather to two granddaughters I am quite familiar with Disney's story of Cinderella. In Ardennia, Calhoun wonderfully entertained me with his telling of the story of how this magical event came to be.
